Native Americans in Utah

[2] The earliest time in Utah's human history is classified by archaeologists as Paleoachaic, which dates back to 11,000 years ago, with evidences of occupation over 11 feet below the current ground level.

Hunters had much success in going after deer, beaver, marmots, and even poultry such as ducks, grouse, and turkeys.

In these farms many things were grown such as corn, beans, and squash, meanwhile the practice of hunting and gathering continued.

[2] During this period trade also became very important among the people of the Fremont culture and the Anasazi, who inhabited the region.

[2] Although much information about these ancient peoples is gained through archaeology, it is only after the arrival of Europeans in the 1700s that their history is preserved through writing.

[3] In 1765, Juan Maria Antonia Rivera and his party may have been some of the first Euro-Americans to explore parts of Utah.

Jedediah Smith and Jim Bridger were among the first, later followed by Peter Skene Ogden, Miles Goodyear, and Etienne Provost.

[4] July 24, 1847 is recognized as the day the Mormon Pioneers entered into the Salt Lake Valley.

As the pioneers would settle the land beyond the Salt Lake Valley, the Native Americans became more displaced and tensions started to arise.

The government did not want a large need for Indian reservations so they used public schools as a way to assimilate Native Americans into white culture.

The hostility was in part because Native Americans lived on non-taxable reservations so they did not pay taxes for school.

[7] This history has created much confusion between the distinction of Native American sovereignty and the powers of the federal government.

[7] The 1975 Indian Self Determination and Education Assistance Act, which has allowed the tribes greater freedom in governing themselves through the administering of federal programs and having more control over their resources.

[11] The Ute people are native to the states of Arizona, Utah, Colorado, Nevada, New Mexico, and Wyoming.

Their original territory covered 30 million acres, in which they moved around following the seasons and animal migration.

[15] The Navajo people are native to the southwestern states of New Mexico, Arizona, Utah, and Colorado.

The Navajo people originally lived in places that are now modern-day Mexico but when Spanish explorers came they were pushed back to Southern Utah and other southwest states.